Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 89978 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89978 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
“I was just checking you out.” He cringes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “God, that sounded all wrong. I meant I wanted to see if you were …” He shakes his head. “I don’t know how to say this.” Koen pulls off his hat and scratches his head, ruffling his thick, mussed hair.
“You were afraid he fixed you up with a dog,” I say, letting the tension fall off my shoulders while I return the scissors to the drawer and blow out a slow breath.
“I like dogs,” he nods to his dog, “so that would have been an acceptable arrangement.” A shy grin steals his lips. “Sorry, bad joke.” He glances around the store.
He’s nervous. I can’t believe I feared for my life just seconds earlier.
Do I tell him I was hoping to cancel our date?
“My grandfather is a kind man. He once tried to fix me up with a woman who was six months pregnant and going through a divorce.” He wrinkles his nose.
It’s kind of cute.
“I’m not pregnant, and I’ve never been married.”
But my first love is back in my life, and that has me confused. I should tell him and cancel our date. I’m not good at seeing more than one guy at a time, not that I’ve tried.
“I’ll come back another day when I have cash.” He smirks with a James Marsden smile, the kind that involves his eyes, forcing them to squint a fraction.
And just like that, I no longer wish to cancel our date.
“How did you know I was lying?”
“My grandfather doesn’t have credit cards anymore.”
I frown. “I’m sorry. I’m not usually a liar.”
“I’m sorry I scared you.”
“You didn’t—”
He lifts one eyebrow.
I blush and shake my head. “You nearly scared the crap out of me. I saw my life flash before my eyes.”
“God! I’m an idiot. I shouldn’t have come.” He returns his hat to his head. “If you don’t want to go out next weekend, I won’t blame you.”
“I hate first dates,” I say.
He glances up at me, and his anguish multiplies.
“I have to find the right outfit. My hair never cooperates. The restaurant is usually overpriced, and I hardly taste the food because I’m too focused on making sure it doesn’t stick between my teeth.” I shrug. “There are many reasons why I’m thirty-one and still single, but hating first dates is at the top of that list. So …” I turn and retrieve two soda glasses. “Do you have a curfew?” I glance over my shoulder.
His expression softens. “No.”
“Great.” I snag my keys and hold one out to him. “Lock the door, flip the switch on the Open sign, and sit on a bar stool.”
He hesitates for a few seconds before taking the key. I turn toward the fountain machine and mix up a cherry-lime Rickey and a brown cow.
“Chips, pretzels, or popcorn?” I ask with a grin, sliding the drinks in front of him.
Koen gives me that winning smile again. “We’re really doing this?” He unzips his jacket.
“I think we should.”
“Then popcorn, of course.”
I laugh. “Of course.” Stealing a bag, I peel it open and set it on the counter between the two sodas before hopping onto the sparkly red swivel stool beside him.
“You haven’t introduced me to your sidekick.” I nod to his dog.
He follows my gaze. “This is Scrot.”
“Scrot?”
“Yes. Rhymes with boat.”
“Nice to meet you, Scrot.”
He slides into a down position below Koen.
When I glance up, Koen chooses the brown cow, sipping from the stainless steel straw. “Is this a first date?” he asks.
I toss a few popcorn kernels into my mouth and grin while chewing. “Heck no. This is a chance encounter, not a first date.”
He grabs a handful of popcorn. “So, how long have you worked here?”
“Nope.” I sip my soda. “That’s a first-date question.”
He chuckles. “Okay. Uh … my boss is sleeping with his daughter’s best friend.”
I cup a hand over my mouth and giggle. “You’re so good at chance encounters. How old is his daughter’s friend? Please say she’s of legal age.”
“She’s twenty-three. He’s fifty.”
“Yikes. Does his daughter know?” I stir my drink with the straw until it fizzes.
“No.”
“Could you date someone twenty-seven years younger than you?”
Koen smirks. “That would make her six. So I have to say no.”
“You know what I mean.” I laugh.
He eyes me while sipping his drink. “I don’t know. I can’t imagine having much in common with someone that young.”
I narrow an eye at him. “Do you think your boss is sleeping with her because they have a lot in common?”
“Fair point.”
The momentum dies, and the popcorn bag's rustling and the refrigerators' hum are the only sounds in this space.
“Sorry. This is stupid,” I mumble with a sigh. “I thought we could skip the first-date awkwardness, but this is even more awkward.” I fiddle with my hair. “We’re strangers.”